Do I need to be spiraling over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant?
Don't panic — but do play it safe.
Welcome to the 56th issue of The Supplement, a newsletter that fills in the gaps of your other news intake. This is Alex, one-third of The Supplement team!
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This week, we’re tackling this question: Do I need to be spiraling over the new Omicron COVID-19 variant?
TL;DR: There’s a new COVID-19 variant in town: Omicron. There are early causes for worry around the variant’s transmissibility and the efficacy of the vaccine, especially as Omicron has a large number of mutations. But experts say more research is needed to fully understand the variant. Countries have responded by quickly putting up travel bans, but that has one again prompted the question: are they fair or effective with global vaccine inequity in mind?
There’s a new COVID-19 variant in town.
Last week, scientists in South Africa detected a new variant of COVID-19 — now named Omicron — that is potentially highly transmissible, and it has been linked to a surge in cases in the country. (It should be noted that it’s unclear if the variant actually originated from there).
Canada confirmed its first two Omicron cases on Nov. 28, both in Ontario. A day later, Ontario is investigating four possible more cases, while urging the federal government to test all inbound travellers. The province is planning to speed up booster rollout for at-risk groups and expand COVID-19 treatments, but is not yet thinking about a lockdown.
The variant has also been found in various countries in Africa and Europe, as well as Israel, Hong Kong and Australia.
First confirmed on a specimen collected on Nov. 9, Omicron was declared “a variant of concern” by the World Health Organization on Nov. 26, their most severe warning classification. Delta, for example, is another variant of concern.
Chief amongst the concerns is how effective our vaccines are against it, because this variant comes with 32 mutations on its spike protein. “Since all approved COVID-19 vaccines are designed to target the spike, the large number of changes in Omicron means it is less likely to be intercepted by antibodies raised through vaccination,” explains the Globe’s science reporter, Ivan Semeniuk.
Vaccine manufacturers said they are awaiting data on Omicron to see if they need to redesign their shots or how to best do so.
It will also be important to see if it would pose a long-term threat like Delta (the most dominant variant globally) or fizzle out like Beta and others. This hinges on whether Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, and early data suggest that it could be. The new variant could also bring a higher risk of reinfection.
What have early Omicron cases looked like? Dr. Angelique Coetzee, head of the South African Medical Association, told BBC that the cases have arisen in mostly younger people, with complaints of body ache and exhaustion — rather than “patients that might go straight to a hospital and be admitted.”
But ultimately, scientists say more research is needed to fully understand the new variant.
Politically, the news has prompted Canada (and others) to quickly introduce restrictions against anyone who has travelled through southern African countries — South Africa, Eswatini, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia — in the last 14 days. Foreigners who have done so are banned from entering. This mandate is in effect until January 31, 2022.
Several of the restricted countries, as well as experts, have spoken out against the ban. Scientists are also warning about the bans’ potential disruption to vital lab work. Canada has yet to introduce restrictions against non-African countries where Omicron has also been found.
“These travel bans are based in politics, and not in science. It is wrong... Why are we locking away Africa when this virus is already on three continents?" Ayoade Alakija, the African Union’s vaccine delivery alliance co-chair, said to BBC.
Speaking about support, it’s a good time to remind ourselves that much of the Global South still lags behind in vaccination rate largely due to vaccine inequity. Vaccine hesitancy is another challenge, and addressing it requires understanding countries’ historical and cultural contexts.
As of November 27, almost 80% of Canadians are fully or partly vaccinated — and this figure will increase as kids aged 5+ are now able to get their shots. In comparison, under 6% of Africa’s population is vaccinated.
“One of the key factors to emergence of variants may well be low vaccination rates in parts of the world, and the WHO warning that none of us is safe until all of us are safe ... should be heeded,” Peter Openshaw, a Imperial College London professor of experimental medicine, said.
Here’s someone to follow:
Local reporting is so important — and that’s why you should follow the Fraser Valley Current, which focuses on Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Mission, and the rest of the Fraser Valley. As many BC communities continue to be on flood watch, check out their one-stop shop for rolling updates, in-depth reporting, and guides for how to get and provide help.
Here’s a story to check out:
In last week’s newsletter, we touched on the RCMP’s arrests of Indigenous land defenders and journalists on Wet’suwet’en territory. This week, photojournalist Amber Broken — one of the two reporters whom the RCMP arrested — published a photo essay with The Narwhal showing what the raid looked like on the ground.
And here’s the footage from Michael Toledano, the arrested documentary filmmaker:
